Clown Loach worries

[abpechman]

We've been getting back into this great hobby after a long lay off and we've been mostly taking it slow.  We have one 20g community tank (some tetras, hatchets a Bala and pleco) with one Clown Loach in it, about 3" long.  We've had him about three months.  We're in the process of getting a 100g set up but it's going to be a while before we can get the Loach in it.  Our intention is to make the 100g a Loach tank.  For the most part, this loach is doing really well.  It eats well, isn't bashful and basically does loach things.  

Lately, though, it has started to act a little odd and we're not sure if this is "normal" or something alarming.  We think we've heard it called "flashing" where it flicks on its side for a moment and then swims normally.  My wife also says she's seen it rub a little on the rocks, too.  She says the coloring is more muted and I've been saying it looks like it grays out a little, too.  It seems to want to mess with our pleco a little almost like the two of them are jockeying for the same hidey-hole.  It also seems to be "breathing" more rapidly than we think we've seen it do before.

The temp is between 76-78F, pH is about 7.0 (it was 6.8 but we just did a 25% water change and tank cleaning), Ammonia and Nitrite are both zero but we've had a spike in Nitrate to 40ppm.  The Nitrate was 10ppm on 1/5, 0ppm on 2/12, and now 40ppm today, 2/27.  We replaced the filter cartridge after 2/12 because it looked really bad and was thickly coated.

Put all that together and we're concerned that the Loach is either fine but goofy or trying to tell us something is wrong.  We really would like to lower that Nitrate back to zero but aren't sure if the combination 25% water change and filter change 15 days ago might have something to do with it and that things will level out.

An option we have is another 20g tank with only a red tail shark (who used to be the loach's buddy before it got aggresive with the others in the tank) but that tank is only up for about a month and the nitrite is still 2ppm and nitrate is 10ppm.  We're worried that that tank isn't quite ready for a loach.

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Mzungu]

Re: Clown Loach worries

I'm not too knowledgeable about loaches, so sorry in advance.  :(

Just had a couple of questions. It's difficult to get a 0 reading for nitrates, is this a planted tank? It's possible that everything will level out in time, but the fact that your clown seems to be breathing harder than usual might, like you said, be an indication of something. A couple things that came to mind were - have you tested your tap water? Sometimes, from what I hear, around here it goes through cycles, and such a significant rise in nitrates might mean the tap water has nitrates present? Also, have you purchased a new test kit since your reading of 0 nitrates? And one more, does your filter have only one cartridge, or does it have a few in there, such as a sponge and a bag of carbon?

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. But thanks for providing such detail about the tank! History and specifics are a great help.  

[HoustonFishFanatic]

Re: Clown Loach worries

Since the loach is rubbing itself off the rock this can be an indication of itch. Beware. Donot use the regular itch treatment for the loaches. These are kind of scaleless(very minute scales) and are very sensitive to chemical in water. I would try to just maintain the water temp constant and do the regular water changes as and when needed.